Automatic station indicator



(No Model.) 3 Sheets-Shet 1. C. W. MAY.

AUTOMATIC STATION INDICATOR.

Patented Dec. 6. 1887.

IINVENTOR:

ATTORNEYS.

(No Model.)

I 3 Sheets-Sheet 3. (J. W. MAY.

AUTOMATIO STATION INDICATOR.

Patented Dec. 6, 1887 \Q m B Z Q 7% S MR I III/I/l/ I II ///////I////// Ill/III III/I III 11/ ///////////////////l l/l/l/l/l/l/ Il/ III/I/I/II/l/I/I/l/lj INVENTOR:

II77 Ill/I WITNESSES ATTORNEYS.

N. FETERS, mmuma n mr, Walhinglon. n. c,

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

CHARLES W. MAY, OF OMAHA, NEBRASKA, ASSIGNOR ONE-HALF TO JOHN H. WHITE, OF SAME PLACE.

AUTOMATIC STATION-INDICATOR.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 374,484, dated December 6, 1887.

(No model.)

To all whom, it may concern.-

Be it known that I, OHARLEs W. lVIAY, of Omaha, in the county of Douglas and State of Nebraska,have invented a new and Improved Automatic Station-Indicator, of which thefol lowing is a full, clear, and exact description.

My invention relates to the construction and arrangement of a simple and effective device, to be actuated directly by the motion of a car,for automatically.indicating the streets, stations, and other prominent points on the route as they are reached by the car.

The invention consists in the construction and combination of parts, as hereinafter fully described, and particularly pointed out in the claims.

Reference is to be had to the accompanying drawings, forming a part of this specification, in which similar letters of reference indicate corresponding parts in all the figures.

Figure l is a sectional elevation showing part of the indicator-actuating mechanism connected with the car-axle. Fig. 2 is arear end view of' the same. Fig. 3 is a face view of the indicator proper, parts being broken out to disclose the internal arrangement. Fig. 4 is a vertical section taken on the lineman, Fig. 3. Fig. 5 is a vertical section taken on the line 31y, Fig. 3. Fig. 6 is a vertical section taken on the line a z, Fig. 3.

Referring to Figs. 1 and 2, A designates the bottom of the car-body, B the end wall of the same, 0 one of the car-axles, and D a wheel thereon.

The axle C is provided with a worm, O, which is in gear with a worm-wheel, E, fixed on the rear end of a shaft, E, mounted lengthwise of the car in bearings F and F.

On the forward end of the shaft E is fixed a bevel-gear, E", which, engages with a bevelgear,'G, on the lower end of a vertical shaft, G, journaled at its lower end in a bearing,G held in the car-bottom A.

The rear bearing, F, of the shaft E is formed on a casting, F, loosely embracing the car- 'axle C and held thereon by a strap, F bolted to the casting. To the casting F is secured the rear endof the bar F", which extends forward below the shaft E, carries at its front end the bearing F of the same, and is pivoted thereat to swing vertically on the downwardlycurved arm H of the bent piece H. The arm H of the piece H is mounted to turn horizontally in a keeper, H", attached to the under side of the car-bottom. The forward bearing, F, beingthus connected by a universal joint to the car-body, is not affected by the lateral or vertical oscillation of the same, and the shaftE' is maintained in position.

A coiled spring, G is interposed between the bevel-gear G on the vertical shaft G and the bearing G to keep the gear G in engagement with the gear E during the vertical oscillation of the car, and a collar, G, provided with a set-screw, is adjusted on the shaft G, above its fixed bearing G, to properly limit its downward movement.

Theshaft G extends upward into the end compartment, 1, of the casing I of the indicator proper, (shown in Figs. 3, 4, 5, and 6,) which is suitably supported in a conspicuous position near the top of the car.

The upper part of the shaft G is mounted to turn freely in bearings J, secured to the inner skeleton wall, I, of the compartment 1, and between the two bearings J reversebevelgears K K are mounted to slide freely on, but

compelled to turn with, the shaft G, as by means of the usual feather and groove.

The gears K K are provided with annularly-grooved bosses K K, which are engaged by the forked levers K K, Fig. 4, pivoted to the wall I and having handles projecting through the casing I, by which either gear K or K may be thrown into engagement with a large bevel-gear, L, or both disengaged therefrom.

Suitable stops may be provided for holding the handle-levers in either adjustment.

The large bevel-gear L is fixed on a shaft, L, projecting through the wall I into the adjacent compartment I of the casing, and journaled in the wall I and the inner skeleton wall, I, of the compartment 1.

On the shaft L, within the compartment 1 is fixed agear-wh'eel, M,which simultaneously drives in a like direction, through intermediate trains of multiplying gearing M and M the gear-w heels M M, arranged, respectively, in the top and bottom of the compartment 1 The gear-wheels M and M are mounted on the shafts N N,which extend through the wall I and form the inner journals of the parallel carrier-rollers O 0, arranged in the main compartment I of the indicator-casing, and havingtheir outer journals mounted in the end wall. of the compartment 1 On the rollers O O is wound the paper or fabric strip 1?, on which are printed or produced in succession the names of the stations, streets, &c., in the order in which they are reached by the car. The strip 1? is guided by the rollers Q Q at the top and bottom of the compartment 1 close to the front wall, I", of the casing, so that the various names will ap' pear in succession at the narrow glazed opening 1 in the front wall, 1. On the innerroller journals or shafts, N N, are fixed reverse ratchet-s R R,which are engaged, respectively, by spring-actuated pawls S S, pivoted to the gear-wheels M and M, which are mounted loosely on the shafts N N.

The ratchets R R on the two shafts being reverse, either carrier-roller O or O can be turned for adjusting the tension of the strip P without affecting the other carrier-roller. With this arrangement, the names on the strip 1?, being spaced in accordance with the distances between the places which they respectively designate, said names will appear at the front opening, 1,when the car arrives at such places, as the strip travels exactly in accordance with the car.

At the end ofthc trip, if the car is reversed, the motion of the carrier-rollers can be reversed by the handle-levers K K so that on the return trip the names will appear in the required reverse order. In case the caris not reversed, but merely drawn backward, as it were, no reversal of the strip-actuating mechanism will. be necessary, as the rotation of the driving-axle is reversed.

A spur-wheel,T, is fixed on the shaft L,just back ofthe large bevel-gear L, and is engaged by a smaller spur wheel, T, the shaft T of which hasasquared end projecting through the wall Iof the casing to receive a key or crank. Thus,when the strip 1? becomes misplaced, as by the slipping of the car-Wheels, it may readily be readjusted by throwing both bevelgears K K out of action and setting the gearing by means of said key or crank and gears T '1" Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

1. The combination, with a car-body, A, a car-axle, 0, having a gear, 0, and a shaft, E, at right angles to the axle, having a gear, E, engaging the gear 0, and a gear, E, engaging a gear, G, on the car-body, of a bar, Fflcarrying hearings, in which the shaft E is journaled, and pivoted at one end to swing vertically on and to the axle O, and a piece, H, to which the bar F" is pivoted to swing vertically at its other end, and mounted to swing laterally on the car-body, substantially as described.

2. The combination of a eat-body, a shalt, E, jointed to swing vertically with respect thereto,a gear, Eton the shaft E, a gear,G-,en-

gaging the gear E, its vertical shaft G having a bearing in the car-body, and a spring for holding the gears E andG in engagement as .the car-body oscillates, substantially as de respectively, with the gears M and M, substantially as described.

CHARLES XV. MAY. \Vitnesses:

JOHN N. VVHITE, S. S. VAN BEUREN. 

